# LEN-0170 — Convergence Lens ## Ontology Metadata Code: LEN-0170 Version: LEN-0170@0.1.0 Ontology release: 0.1.0 Updated: 2026-05-10T00:00:00Z Canonical URL: /workbench/lenses/convergence-lens/ ## Summary Compares parallel structural systems to determine whether they align under shared authority. ## Primary Pattern Matches - PAT-0110 — Asymmetric Structure - URL: /workbench/patterns/asymmetric-structure/ - Summary: A structural condition where comparable regions receive unequal rule, constraint, or authority application without a declared differentiation rule. - PAT-0190 — Contract Drift - URL: /workbench/patterns/contract-drift/ - Summary: A structural condition where a declared contract changes but connected structures, implementations, consumers, or expectations do not update in sync. - PAT-0320 — Convergence Failure - URL: /workbench/patterns/convergence-failure/ - Summary: A structural condition where sequential or parallel states fail to resolve into an equivalent or coherent structure under shared authority and constraints. - PAT-0290 — Divergent Outputs - URL: /workbench/patterns/divergent-outputs/ - Summary: A structural condition where parallel evaluations under comparable scope and shared authority produce non-equivalent outputs. ## Secondary Pattern Matches - PAT-0240 — Authority-State Mismatch - URL: /workbench/patterns/authority-state-mismatch/ - Summary: A structural condition where observed system state no longer aligns with the declared authority state that is supposed to govern it. - PAT-0210 — Non-Deterministic Execution - URL: /workbench/patterns/non-deterministic-execution/ - Summary: A structural condition where equivalent inputs and declared constraints produce divergent outputs across executions. ## Related Issues - ISS-0040 — Actual Policy Differs From Declared Policy - URL: /workbench/issues/actual-policy-differs-from-declared-policy/ - Summary: The policy the AI or workflow actually follows differs from the policy that is documented, declared, displayed, or expected. - ISS-0008 — Agent Keeps Expanding the Task - URL: /workbench/issues/agent-keeps-expanding-the-task/ - Summary: The agent repeatedly expands the task, plan, scope, or next-step list instead of completing the declared work. - ISS-0082 — Agent Never Settles on Final Answer - URL: /workbench/issues/agent-never-settles-on-final-answer/ - Summary: The agent keeps revising, rechecking, planning, or branching instead of converging on a final answer or completed result. - ISS-0029 — AI Forgets Earlier Constraints - URL: /workbench/issues/ai-forgets-earlier-constraints/ - Summary: A constraint, instruction, preference, or decision that should persist through the task stops affecting later output. - ISS-0043 — Behavior Does Not Match Declared Role - URL: /workbench/issues/behavior-does-not-match-declared-role/ - Summary: The AI or agent behaves outside, below, or differently from the role, authority, responsibility, or permission posture declared for it. - ISS-0085 — Cannot Identify Authoritative State - URL: /workbench/issues/cannot-identify-authoritative-state/ - Summary: The user or workflow cannot tell which state, version, review result, decision, source, or output is currently authoritative. - ISS-0031 — Context Changes After Restore - URL: /workbench/issues/context-changes-after-restore/ - Summary: Restoring, reopening, resuming, or reloading a task changes the context that the AI uses to continue the work. - ISS-0015 — Declared Owner Cannot Control Outcome - URL: /workbench/issues/declared-owner-cannot-control-outcome/ - Summary: A person, role, system, or policy is declared responsible for an outcome but does not have the actual authority or control needed to govern it. - ISS-0094 — Early Model Output Gets Overweighted Downstream - URL: /workbench/issues/early-model-output-gets-overweighted-downstream/ - Summary: An early AI output receives too much authority in later workflow steps, decisions, reviews, or generated artifacts. - ISS-0036 — Human Review and Automation Disagree - URL: /workbench/issues/human-review-and-automation-disagree/ - Summary: A human review result and an automated AI or workflow result disagree without a declared rule for resolving the difference. - ISS-0101 — Local Exception Grows Into Policy - URL: /workbench/issues/local-exception-grows-into-policy/ - Summary: A local exception, special case, or one-off allowance begins to function like a general policy. - ISS-0084 — Merge Step Leaves Unresolved Differences - URL: /workbench/issues/merge-step-leaves-unresolved-differences/ - Summary: A merge, reconciliation, or consolidation step combines outputs or reviews but leaves important differences unresolved. - ISS-0038 — Model and Workflow Disagree on Next Step - URL: /workbench/issues/model-and-workflow-disagree-on-next-step/ - Summary: The AI model recommends or selects a next step that conflicts with the workflow state, required handoff, routing rule, or process sequence. - ISS-0012 — No Owner for Agent Action - URL: /workbench/issues/no-owner-for-agent-action/ - Summary: An agent action can affect the system without a declared responsible owner, authority, or accountable decision path. - ISS-0056 — Old Output Expectations Survive Migration - URL: /workbench/issues/old-output-expectations-survive-migration/ - Summary: Expectations from a prior model, prompt, schema, tool, or workflow survive a migration and continue shaping review or downstream handling after they should be replaced. - ISS-0104 — One Prompt Carries Too Many Meanings - URL: /workbench/issues/one-prompt-carries-too-many-meanings/ - Summary: A single prompt carries too many meanings, goals, roles, constraints, or implied tasks for the AI to interpret consistently. - ISS-0052 — Output Breaks After Model Change - URL: /workbench/issues/output-breaks-after-model-change/ - Summary: Output that previously worked begins failing after a model, mode, runtime, or product behavior changes. - ISS-0059 — Output Changed Without Declared Change - URL: /workbench/issues/output-changed-without-declared-change/ - Summary: Output shape, content, format, fields, or behavior changes without a declared change to the prompt, schema, model, workflow, or governing rule. - ISS-0083 — Parallel Reviews Never Agree - URL: /workbench/issues/parallel-reviews-never-agree/ - Summary: Parallel AI, human, workflow, or tool reviews keep producing different results without resolving into a shared decision state. - ISS-0042 — Policy Update Not Reflected in Output - URL: /workbench/issues/policy-update-not-reflected-in-output/ - Summary: A policy, rule, standard, or instruction has been updated, but the AI output still follows the older version. - ISS-0058 — Prompt Behavior Changed Without Version Change - URL: /workbench/issues/prompt-behavior-changed-without-version-change/ - Summary: A prompt begins producing different behavior even though no prompt version, model version, workflow version, or declared dependency change is recorded. - ISS-0054 — Prompt Changed but Workflow Did Not - URL: /workbench/issues/prompt-changed-but-workflow-did-not/ - Summary: A prompt changes but the workflow, parser, review step, routing rule, or downstream expectation still assumes the old prompt behavior. - ISS-0071 — Prompt Has Too Many Valid Interpretations - URL: /workbench/issues/prompt-has-too-many-valid-interpretations/ - Summary: The prompt allows too many reasonable interpretations, causing the AI to choose among valid paths without enough guidance. - ISS-0005 — Prompt Only Works After Retry - URL: /workbench/issues/prompt-only-works-after-retry/ - Summary: The prompt fails, misroutes, or produces an unusable response on one attempt but works after retry without a meaningful change to the input. - ISS-0063 — Results Vary Too Much - URL: /workbench/issues/results-vary-too-much/ - Summary: Repeated or comparable runs produce outputs that vary more than the task, workflow, or user can tolerate. - ISS-0100 — Review Escalates Without Stop Condition - URL: /workbench/issues/review-escalates-without-stop-condition/ - Summary: A review process keeps escalating, re-reviewing, or adding scrutiny without a declared condition for stopping. - ISS-0105 — Review Queue Becomes Bottleneck - URL: /workbench/issues/review-queue-becomes-bottleneck/ - Summary: A review queue, approval path, or validation stage accumulates too much work and begins blocking the workflow. - ISS-0041 — Revoked Approval Still Treated as Active - URL: /workbench/issues/revoked-approval-still-treated-as-active/ - Summary: An approval, permission, exception, or authorization that was revoked continues to affect AI behavior or workflow decisions as if it were still active. - ISS-0112 — Routing Overrides Task Intent - URL: /workbench/issues/routing-overrides-task-intent/ - Summary: Routing, mode selection, agent behavior, or workflow classification sends the task down a path that overrides what the user was trying to accomplish. - ISS-0092 — Routing Path Cycles Back to Start - URL: /workbench/issues/routing-path-cycles-back-to-start/ - Summary: A routing path sends the case back to the starting point or an earlier step without resolving the condition that caused the route. - ISS-0055 — Rubric Changed but Results Did Not - URL: /workbench/issues/rubric-changed-but-results-did-not/ - Summary: A review rubric, scoring rule, evaluation standard, or classification criterion changes, but AI results continue to reflect the old rubric. - ISS-0057 — Same Contract Name Has Different Meanings - URL: /workbench/issues/same-contract-name-has-different-meanings/ - Summary: The same prompt, schema, field, policy, tool, or workflow contract name is used in different places with different meanings. - ISS-0072 — Same Instructions Allow Different Outputs - URL: /workbench/issues/same-instructions-allow-different-outputs/ - Summary: The same instructions are broad or underspecified enough to allow materially different outputs that all appear compliant. - ISS-0067 — Same Rule Declared in Multiple Places - URL: /workbench/issues/same-rule-declared-in-multiple-places/ - Summary: The same rule, constraint, instruction, or policy appears in multiple places, creating redundancy and possible drift. - ISS-0069 — Same Workflow Check Happens Twice - URL: /workbench/issues/same-workflow-check-happens-twice/ - Summary: The same review, validation, approval, routing, or safety check occurs more than once in the workflow without a clear reason. - ISS-0004 — Saved Reference No Longer Works - URL: /workbench/issues/saved-reference-no-longer-works/ - Summary: A saved source, citation, file reference, prompt reference, or workflow pointer previously worked but no longer resolves to the expected object or meaning. - ISS-0001 — Similar Cases Route to Different Outcomes - URL: /workbench/issues/similar-cases-route-to-different-outcomes/ - Summary: Similar inputs, cases, prompts, or workflow states are routed to different outcomes without a declared difference that explains the split. - ISS-0106 — Small Change Produces Large Downstream Effects - URL: /workbench/issues/small-change-produces-large-downstream-effects/ - Summary: A small prompt, schema, policy, output, or workflow change creates unexpectedly large effects in downstream steps. - ISS-0034 — Stale Context Affects Output - URL: /workbench/issues/stale-context-affects-output/ - Summary: Old context, prior instructions, outdated references, or earlier task state continue to affect output after they should no longer apply. - ISS-0030 — Task Progress Is Lost Midway - URL: /workbench/issues/task-progress-is-lost-midway/ - Summary: The AI loses track of completed work, prior decisions, current position, or remaining steps before the task is finished. - ISS-0019 — Tool Result Not Integrated Correctly - URL: /workbench/issues/tool-result-not-integrated-correctly/ - Summary: The AI receives a tool result but misreads, ignores, overwrites, misplaces, or fails to incorporate it correctly into the final output or workflow state. - ISS-0006 — Validation Result Changes on Retry - URL: /workbench/issues/validation-result-changes-on-retry/ - Summary: A validation, grading, review, classification, or pass/fail result changes after retry even though the input and declared validation rules did not change. - ISS-0053 — Version Change Breaks Existing Prompt - URL: /workbench/issues/version-change-breaks-existing-prompt/ - Summary: A prompt that previously produced usable results stops working after a version change in the model, tool, policy, schema, product surface, or workflow. - ISS-0086 — Workflow Loops Through Review Without Resolution - URL: /workbench/issues/workflow-loops-through-review-without-resolution/ - Summary: A workflow repeatedly sends work through review, repair, or escalation without reaching an approved, rejected, or otherwise resolved state. - ISS-0089 — Workflow Waits on Step That Waits Back - URL: /workbench/issues/workflow-waits-on-step-that-waits-back/ - Summary: A workflow step waits for another step that also waits on the first step, creating a blocking loop.